Chinese Hospitality

You know when you're in China when somebody you just met invites you for dinner. That's one of the selling features of China for me. Chinese people know hospitality like no body's business (except my mom of course).

After finishing up my last day of volunteering for the Olympics, rather emotional I admit, I made the last trek home. Along the way I made myself quite productive, buying seaweed, taking a swim, and getting a haircut. Possibly my last ride on the my daily bus route, I began to think about all of the good memories I have spent on the bus this summer.

However, on arriving at my friends' apartment, I quickly realized that they weren't home, so I had no choice but to wait outside. After sitting on the steps outside their door for about 15 minutes, I took a walk around the neighborhood, returned, and repeated. For an hour and a half! I didn't have my phone so I couldn't contact my friends.

That's when a neighbor asked what I was up to sitting on the steps. She invited me to her family's apartment to call and wait for my friends to get back home. Her mom, in her 70s, made me some noodles and we sat down to watch the Olympics while I waited for my friends. So hospitable!